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No. 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Massachusetts 



The Christening Robe 



A Comedy in One Act 



By 
ANNE L. ESTABROOK 



BOSTON 

WALTER H. BAKER & CO. 
1917 



^ 



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The Christening Robe 



CHARACTERS 

{Ai originally produced at the To-zvn Hall, Fit-zivilliam, N. H., in August, /gi4.) 

Nora Mulvey Jlh'ss Anne L. Esiabrook 

Patrick Mulvey, Abra s husbatid . Mr. Ralph Jefferson 

Mrs. Ryan, Nora's mother . . Miss Mary Caroline Blair 

Sarah Mulvey, Patrick' s sis fe,- . Miss Marguerite Kimb at 




Copyright, 191 7, by Anne L. Estabrook 
Professional and moving picturexights reserved. 



©CI.D 45873 

JAN -9 1917 

^^'0 1 



TNIP96-C07296 



The Christening Robe 



SCENE. — A pleasant tenement kitchen, with clean brown 
7aalls, curtains at the windows and sunlight shitting in. At 
tipper K. a door leads into the hall. At L. back a door 
opens itito the bedroom. There is a witidoiu \..^with a rock- 
ing-chair near it. At r. back is a cupboard. At c. back 
is the stove, well-blacked. Near the stove is a sink under 
windotu. On the right side of the stage is a table with a 
folded table-cloth oti it. At L. a baby carriage, evidently 
containing a very stnall baby. Four straight chairs. 

(As the curtain rises, Nora Mulvey, a thiti, good-looking, 
sotnewhat tititidy Irishwottian of about thirty-five, is par- 
ing potatoes, seated by baby carriage. Noiv and then she 
pushes the carriage. Looks into the oven, then at the fire, 
then into the carriage. She straightens the window-ctir- 
tains, looking out doivn the street as she does so. Ar- 
ranges a lock or two of hair, goes again to witidow, as 
if tvatching for some otie whom she presently sees. She 
waves and beckons.^ 

Nora (her head out of window~). Patrick ! Come along 
up ! 

{She goes to table and shakes out cloth. Enter Patrick 
Mulvey, an hottest, kindly, red-headed Irishman, with 
ititettsely blue eyes. He is about her age.^ 

Pat. (puttitig his dinner-pail on table and looking around'). 
Ye've made the place look fine ! 

Nora. I've been on the top of me head all day gettin' it 
done. (Opens cupboard door.) I've cleaned the cupboard. 
I've scrubbed the floor. I've sent the childern over to me 
niolher's to be out of Sarah's way when she first gets here. 
I've done the winders an' the winder curtains an' the bedroom 
where she'll lay her hat. But if that christenin' dress comes 



4 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

home late or with a rip or a tear of anny sort an' yer sister 
Sarah finds that I've lent her grand present to anny one at 
all 

Pat. Haven't the Leahys sent back the dress? 

Nora. They have not. {Puts potatoes into kettle.) 

Pat. Likely they're havin' it washed. 

Nora. Washed! That grand dress? I'd thank them to 
let no water touch it. Time enough for forty washin's, an' 
their baby christened Wednesday. I don't like the way of it 
at all. 

Pat. It will come back to-morrer, in time for church. 

Nora. To morrer, me good man? An' yer sister Sarah 
likely to drop in at anny moment now ! 

{Puts kettle 071 stove.) 

Pat. What else could ye do an' Mrs. Leahy, poor woman, 
askin' the loan? How would we feel when our baby stands 
for the holy water if hers had gone to the church, shamin' 
her? 

Nora. True enough ! But is yer sister Sarah, that's hardly 
been inside our door twice a year since we married, likely to 
take it kindly that I lent her present of a christenin' dress to 
the wife of the man that wouldn't wait a year for herself? 

Pat. Come, Nora. That's ten years since. A good 
woman like Sarah, a gen'ral girl with the highest wages, ain't 
goin' to spend ten years over a disapp'intment. {Gives her en- 
velope.) Open me pay-envelope, an' give me some money for 
me terbaccer. 

Nora {taking it). Sooner than she should know I'd lent 
the dress to Barty Leahy's child, I'd take six dollars from yer 
envelope, an' buy another like it, if hers has come to harm ! 

Pat. Are ye wild ? {Snatclies envelope from her. She 
drops into chair rather pettishly.) What am I, a workin' man 
makin' ten dollars a week an' all goin' well, to spend six on a 
baby's dress? Come, Nora, ye've overdone yeself. Ye shall 
sleep, me girl, an' Pll get the breakfast to-morrer. Give me 
the money. 

{He gives back envelope. ) 

Nora. Here's twenty-five. I won't give ye the car fares till 

Monday. Ye'd not want so much loose change in yer 
pockets. 

Pat. Ye make too much of the matter. 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 5 

Nora {listlessly). Wheel the baby into the bedroom. It's 
too hot for her here. 

{Exit Pat., l. back, ivheeli/ig carriage. He reenters im- 
mediately. Finds Nora /// same attitude.) 

Pat. Sarah'll not be hard on ye. 

Nora. She's been as hard as a rock since we married. 

Pat. Suppose I'd stayed single a year longer an' kept on 
helpin' her with the old people, the way she'd been free to 
marry Barty Leahy ? Would she 

Nora {interrupting). She'll take no one's word she'd not 
have been well off with him for a man. 

{Puts envelope in cupboard.) 

Pat. Her sendin' the dress was a sign that she'd made 
up 

Nora. With you an' the childern ! An' for that same 
reason I'll die if that dress has come to harm, for she's not said 
one kind word for me in all these years ! 

{Spreads table-cloth.) 

Pat. She spoke as kind for ye as anny one could ask at 
Jacky Murphy's wake. 

Nora {her face lighting). She did ? 

Pat. As God's above me ! 

Nora. What did she say ? 

Pat. How nice ye were to work with when the two of ye 
lived out together. How pleasant ye were with young fellers 
{banteringly) an' how manny ye could have, but ye weren't the 
sort to pick up anny one ! It was all that that made me invite 
her to stand for the baby. 

Nora. An' ye never told me ! 

Pat. I'm tellin' ye now. 

Nora {delighted). So she's ready to be friends ag'ain ! 
Poor Sarali ! Sure Barty Leahy's nothin' for a girl like her to 
mourn-. {Runs to cupboard, gets envelope.) Here's ten cents 
more. Get me a quarter of a pound of the I)est butter. She's 
used to the best, bein' in service. {Gives him ten cents, then 
drops envelope on table, and flings open oven door. ) Butter ! 
An' me biscuits in the oven. {Takes pan out.) Thank God 
they're not so much as scortched. 



b THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Pat. They're grand, Nora ! As fine an' light lookin' as 
anny ye ever made. I'll say this for ye, if it's me last word — 
ye never wasted one cent of me money on baker's bread. 

NoKA. An' even if I had, which I never did, would I set 
baker's stuff before Sarah? {Puts pan of biscuits and Yk'x.''^ 
dinner-pail in cupboard. Puts on clean apro7i.') There's no 
one I'd rather have stand godmother for the child. Sarah has 
a tongue in her head 

Pat. She's ardent 

Nora. She's spirited [as she washes face and hands at sink~) 
but she's very religious, the way she'd hardly give a civil word 
to ye Sunday if she missed Mass : she's religious, if I say it of 
anny one, an' them that stands round when our baby's chris- 
tened will see that the godmother gives no less than five dollars 
to tlie priest. 

Pat. Ye're right, Nora ! 

Nora. An' after her speakin' so kindly — it ain't as if she'd 
talked mean behind me back at Jack Murphy's wake — I'll die 
now sooner than she shall know how I lent her present to the 
child of a man she'd have taken for herself ! 

Pat. Why, Nora ! A minute ago ye said it was because 
she hadn't spoke kindly 

Enter Mrs. Ryan, r. She is an old Irishiooman, hardly 
at all Americanized. 

Mrs. R. Ah, God — Nora — Patrick — did ye see the ambu- 
lance ? 

Nora {the current of her thought entirely changed^. Am- 
bulance, mother? 

Pat. The police ambulance, Mrs. Ryan? 

Mrs. R. God love ye, no ! I was in me kitchen, keepin' 
yer young ones quiet the way Nora told me, an' the hospital 
ambulance come down the street an' turned yer corner, 

(Nora rushes to tvindozu.') 

Nora. God be good to us, there it stands now ! 
Mrs. R. {crozt'ding up). Step back, Nora, the way I can 
see. 

{Settles herself in rocker, 7vith a tningling of absorbed inter- 
est, easy piety and real sympathy, ivhich latter in no wise 
detracts from her innocent enjoyment of the event. ^ 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 7 

Nora (Jn excited reflection'). There's the Kellys on the 
jRrst floor an' the Burnses on top an' the Leahys in the middle. 
Run along down, Patrick, an' see what it's all about ! 

Pat. {calmly filling pipe). I will, 

Mks. R. God help them ! God help the poor souls ! Ah, 
God lielp them that's in trouble! Nora, ain't ye got the grand 
place fer to see it all? 

Nora {going up to Pat. to push him). Run along down, 
Patrick ! 

Pat. (calmly). I will ! 

(Lights his pipe and exit, r. Nora returns to window.) 

Mrs. R. Here's the folks runnin' — runnin' Ah, Fm 

always sorry to see an ambulance stand before anny door ! 
Pull the curtain back — pull the curtain back, the way I can 
see better ! Ah, there's nothin' but sickness an' trouble in all 
this world. 

Nora {with meaning). I dreamed last night that I was in 
a cimit'ry, an' I couldn't find the gate. 

Mrs. R. Ah, well, acushla, now yer dream's out. 

Nora. There's two died from this court already. 

Mrs. R, (solemnly, but losing Jio detail outside). When 
two goes, they takes a third along. 

Nora (fervently and still keenly watching). I hope that 
God will give them a good bed in heaven. 

Mrs. R. May He have mercy on their souls. 

Nora. Mother ! There's the district doctor ! 

Mrs. R. Here himself to see the sick one off ! They're 
comin' ! 

Nora (crowding forward). God save an' help us ! 

Mrs. R. (pushing her). Don't get in the way of me, 
Nora ! Can't ye take the other winder an' leave me see? 

Nora {running to the other window). They're here ! 

Mrs. R. There's yer own man pushin' back the people. 

Nora, God bless Patrick for his thoughtfulness ! 

Mrs. R. Would ye think people could come crowdin' to see 
a sad sight like that ? 

Nora. A man ! 
* Mrs. R. Ah, sorrer, sorrer, there's nothin' but sickness an' 

sorrer (/;/ reproachful entreaty.) Why can't Patrick 

keep them back the way I can see ? 

Nora. There he is ! A big, black-haired feller 

Mrs. R. (excitedly). Black-haired ! 



8 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

NouA. Yes, Barty Leahy ! 

Mks. R. The poor man ! The poor man ! Ah, he was 
tlie handsome young feller. 

Nora. Poor Sarah ! He was then in the army. 

Mrs. R. Whalever's happened to the lad, Nora? 

Nora (calling out of ivimlow). Patrick ! 

Mus. R. (calling out of zvindow). Patrick Mulvey ! 

NouA. Come over beneath the winder, Pat ! 

Mrs. R. (also out of windoiv). What's wrong with poor 
Leahy? 

Nora. Broken his leg ! 

(^Expressions of deepest sympathy on her face and her 
mother^ s.^ 

Mrs. R. (pityingly). Ah, will ye hear that ? 

Nora. How did the poor feller do it, Patrick ? — Fallin* 
down-stairs? (Sympathy gives way to understanding. Still 
leaning out, a^ if conversing with Pat., she goes through 
motions of tipping bottle to lips ; waits for answer, nods and 
turns from window.) I thought so ! Dead drunk he was 
when he done it ! That is the sort of feller Barty Leahy is. 
(Piously self-complacent.) Thank God now that I lent his poor 
child me own baby's christenin' dress ! 

Mrs. R. (sharply). Ye done what, Nora? 

Nora (still with air of deep satisfaction). I lent his wife — 
Leahy himself fetched it over — I lent his baby, that had nolhin' 
but an old slip to wear to church, with the neighbors standin' 
round an' rubberin' round, ready to go off an' say what the 
child had on — I lent them 

Mrs. R. For the love of Heaven, Nora, what did ye lend 
them ? 

Nora (tvith quiet pride). I ient them the dress that Pat- 
rick's sister Sarah sent for our baby's christenin' to morrer. 

Mrs. R. Then Mary help ye, woman ! For that's the 
dress that Barty Leahy sold. 

Nora. Sold ! 

Mrs. R. Where have ye been that ye didn't hear it? 
Mrs. Reilly was tellin' it. Over the fence he sold it, to a Jew 
peddlin' man. 

Nora. My baby's christenin' dress, before I meself had 
barely time to look at it ? (Her horror gives way to wild 
emotion.) Now whatever have I done an' whatever will hap- 
pen at all ? Mother, mother, me heart is broke with dresses 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 9 

an' with christenin's, with quarrels an' with borrerin's, with 
stealin's an' with 

Mrs. R. Hush, Nora ! 

Nora. I'd rather a hunderd times have lost the money. 
I'd have given it them from the insurance an' -been buried by 
the city sooner than meet Sarah without her present to-day. 
Oh, if it had been pawned I'd have faced him for the ticket, 
an' I'd have got the dress again before the sun went down ! 
But what's the use me follerin' a Jew peddler all up an' down 
the world beyond this city ? No use nor hope me doin' it at 
all! 

Mrs. R. Ye make too much of the dress. It ain't the 
dress 

Nora. I do ? No child of mine was ever christened that 
the church didn't get a present. How will it get a present 
now Sarah won't be godmother no more? It's nothin' will be 
given Father Burke when my baby stands at the font to-morrer 
but the bit his father will hand over, an' Patrick will die for 
shame. 

Mus. R. Listen to me ! 

Nora. It was lace from top to bottom up an' down the 
front, in a pattern of leaves, the grandest ever I see. 

Mrs. R. It ain't the dress saves the child but the holy 
water. 

Nora. Oh, that before the holy water had touched my baby, 
another should make off with its christenin' robe ! 

Mrs. R. Hush now, Nora ! What will the neighbors say 
to yer racket? It wasn't the baby stole it. The thing's done. 
Get out the cups. Ye'll have to give her tea. 

Nora. Tea ! The first Sarah's drunk in ten years in my 
kitchen ! The last she'll drink here till judgment day. 

Mrs. R. {impatiently). What of it ? Ye'll both have 
somethin' different from christenin' dresses on yer minds then. 

Nora. What of it ? An' himself wantin' peace with his 
sister an' respect for me from her the way he thinks of it 
mornin's an' evenin's, weekdays an' Sundays, summer an' 
winter every time an' all? 

Mrs. R. Whatever she says himself will stand up for ye ! 
An' because ye lent a dress to a neighbor's young one ye think 
that Sarah 

Nora {iitterrnptiug). Will she that said I could neither 
make nor mend, as me Aunt Bridget told me in her last sick- 
ness, take it kindly that I must lose the present bought with 



10 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

her money, tlirougli means of the child of a man she wanted 
for herself? that jilted her? 

Mrs. R. (^risi//g in exasperation').. I'm sick of yer non- 
sense ! Is marryin' the one thing in the world ? Will a girl 
that's done as well as Sarah treasure up sorrer, to the end of 
her days, at bein' a maiden ? I meself will get out the cups. 

Nora {beginning to do it herself). Yes, get out the cups. 
{Bitterly, as she sets table.) Put supper on the table. Let all 
sit round in the midst till she hears what I've done. {Puts 
kettle on stove.) Boil the water. Make the tea. Let every- 
thin' be the finest ! But me heart will be scalded, unless some 
miracle comes to pass. 

Mrs. R. (pointing to envelope on table, then turning to reg- 
ulate fire). Put yer man's pay envelope in the cupboard, where 
it belongs. 

(Nora stares at it, and her decision comes with overpower- 
ing force.) 

Nora. I'll have that dress ! {Picks up envelope.) 

Mrs. R. {still bending over fire). How? 

Nora {hiding money in front of dress). I'll have as good 
as that dress ! {Drops envelope.) 

Mrs. R. (turning). Where'll it come from ? 

Nora (catching up a small cape from cupboard). I'll buy 
another as like the one that's gone as me one hand is to the 
other, with the same pattern of leaves in the lace that trims 
it 

Mrs. R. Ye're crazy ! Where'll ye get the money? 

Nora. without a differ of anny sort whatever, to be 

thrown up against me by Sarah, from now till the day I die ! 

\_Exit, R. 

Mrs. R. (following her to door). Nora ! Sure ye ain't 
goin' to run into debt for it? Nora! Where do ye think 
ye can borrer it ? Have ye annythin' in the bank an' me not 
knowin' it? (Hurries to zvindoiv.) Where did ye put the 
envelope ? (Startled, she hurries to cupboard ; looks here and 
there, closes door and drops into chair at table with the gesture 
of a person who does7i' t know what to think.) Ah, God ! (In 
a moment she rises, and begins looking again. A knock at the 
door. She catches up a broom and begins to sweep.) Come 
in ! (Enter Sarah Mulvey. She is a woman about thirty- 
tivo or three, pretty and vigorous looking, but with a refine- 
ment that distinguishes her from Nora. Except as a result 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE I J 

of contrast, hotvever, she is not diffeient fj-otn many girls of 
her class. She is neatly and becomingly dressed, on the whole 
quietly and in good taste, though she by no means affects a se- 
vere style. She carries several packages. When she speaks, 
there is much charm in her voice.) So it's yeself ? 

Sarah. It is. An' this must be Nora's mother, Mrs. 
Ryan. 

Mrs. R. None other. To think ye've not forgotten me! 
Come in, come in, Miss Mulvey, an' take a chair. 

Sarah. "Sarah," not "Miss Mulvey" to you, ma'am. 
Let me take the broom. i^Puts parcels on table.^ 

Mrs. R. {holding it). No, no, Sarah, not in yer pretty 
dress. 

Sarah (^taking possession of it). I've had a broom in me 
hands before. What's that ? 

{Picks something up from floor.) 

Mrs. R. a piece of Patrick's pay envelope. 

(Mrs. R. clutches it from her. Sarah is a little surprised.) 

Sarah. It's empty, Mrs. Ryan. {Looks around with ap- 
proval in 7vhich is a faint superiority.) Indeed, Nora has 
made the place look very well. 

Mrs. R. {hastily). Always looks as ye see it now, dear ! 

Sarah. Where's Nora ? 

Mrs. R. (mnvillingly). Nora stepped out. 

Sarah. What for? 

Mrs. R. Indeed, I can't say. 

Sarah. I wouldn't have her go for to get in extras for me. 
I'll run down the street after her, before she buys out the shop 
for tea. {Starts to leave room.) 

Mrs. R. {affecting to be aggrieved). So ye can't stay to 
talk with Nora's mother? 

Sarah {coming back). Ah, Mrs. Ryan, ye must excuse me. 
I think quick an' I act quick. Sure I don't even know the 
way she's gone. 

Mrs. R, Take this chair by the winder, dear. There's a 
good breeze an' a fine view of the street. 

Sarah {sitting by windo^v as Mrs. R. sits by table). Ain't 
there somethin' I could do for Nora ? Siie was one sometimes 
let work get ahead of her. 

Mrs. R. Thank ye, dear, she's been turnin' inside an' out 
gettin' everylhin' done. 



12 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Sakah. There might be a bit of sewin'. She's not one 
vvoiiUl think of lightenin' a button. I'll overlook them on the 
chrisienin' dress. (^Rises.^ 

Mrs. R. (^pushing her back into chair). That grand dress ? 
There's nothin' to touch or alter in anny sort of way on a dress 
yeself sent. 

Sarah. It might not fit the child. She'd hardly think of 
seein' was the neck too big or the sleeves too long. 

ISIrs. R. No, no, stay where ye are an' take yer comfort. 

Sarah. Wouldn't I take full as much without me hands 
lyin' idle in me lap? (Rises.) Ah, Mrs. Ryan, tell me where 
the dress is ! 

Mrs. R, I can't tell, an' that is God's truth, Sarah. Nora 
is that careful, the dress is laid away, I cannot say where. 

Sarah {s/oivly). That's odd. {Sits again.) 

Mrs. R. They say ye've a fine place. (She speaks hastily.) 
Ye're very lucky. 

Sarah. Could ye see the girls works out as T see them, 
ye'd say me family was lucky, too. 

Mrs. R. They are, Sarah. It's not every one has you to 
work for them. 

Sarah. They may not have me always, for I've a plan in 
me mind. 

Mrs. R. a plan ? 

Sarah (ivith sudden melancholy). What's the good plan- 
nin' ? When ye get my age, likely it's only second-best ye can 
plan. 

Mrs. R. If ye get what ye want, it sometimes turns out 
second-best an' worse. 

Sarah [throiving off mehincJwly). So, though I could have 
as good a cook's place as anny in the city, by me own choice 
I'm a gen'ral girl. I get good wages. I have me every other 
Thursday an' me Sunday. I do what's needful for the family, 
but I'm not troubled with a noisy crew hangin' about me 
kitchen, destroyin' me temper while I cook their meals. I live 
with the gentry an' I'm content. 

Mrs. R. Manny's the woman with her half dozen young 
ones tyin' her down would be thankful to change places wilh 
you. 

Sarah (looking out of window , with a slight start). Is 
that 

Mks. R. AVhat was it ye saw, dear? 

Sarah (sloivly and with attonpted indifference). A woman 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE I3 

that was Mamie Brady.— She married a black-haired feller, was 
a short while in the army.— A lad— me brothers used to 

know. -.TT T. , 1 r 

Mks. R. Ah, sure, yes.— Barty Leahy. Well, lucky for 
them that stays single, as a girl in a good place knows. 

Sar.\h. So he's a neighbor of yours? 

Mrs. R. In his way. 

Sakah. Has he childern ? 

Mrs. R. Childern ? ( With a short laugh.) Sivni of them. 

Sarah. Does he make good pay ? 

Mrs. R. When he works. An' 'to-day this same Barty 
Leahy, on his way down-stairs, havin' been drinkin' 

Sarah. I never did think much of Mamie Brady ! So 
Nora's settled to call the liille girl Sarah Rose ? There's roses, 
—ye may have noticed,- small roses in a pattern of leaves in 
the lace on ihe bit of a christenin' dress. 

Mrs. R. Roses ! 

Enter Nora, out of breath, a dress over her arm. There is 
an instant's aivkivard pause. 

Nora. Sarah ! Ye're more than welcome. 
Sarah {jvith a breath of relief). Thank ye kindly, Nora. 
I'm more than glad to be here. 

{They shake hands. Mrs. R. takes dress and goes toward 
bedroom.) 

Nora. Why are ye goin' off with the dress, mother? 

Mrs. R. I'm goin' to lay it away careful in the bureau. 

Nora {taking it from her mother's unwilling hands). Not 
so fast. {To Sarah.) I just stepped out, as I told me mother, 
to show it to some of the neighbors. 

Mrs. R. I didn't hear ye say that ! 

Nora. Ye didn't? {Unknoivn to Mrs. R., she smiles 
meaningly at Sarah and touches fingers to ears ; then steps 
forward so that her mother sees atid holds up dress.) Ain't 
that a beauty, now ? An' yer own choice, Sarah. I never see 
such elegant lace. , c • 

Mrs. R. {taking dress). I'll lay it on the bed. {hxit 
muttering.) A fine dress like that hangin' round the 
kitchen 

Nora {amazed). Whatever has got into her? 

Sarah. She's old, Nora.— Ye're lookin' pale. 



14 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Nora {in a quiet, matter-of-facl 7C'ay). I've been a hard 
road since ye last saw me. 

Sarah. I've brought ye a little butter an' a few fresh eggs. 

Nora. Why did ye go to all that trouble? The best of 
eggs, as anny one can see. 

{S/ie is holding than up to light. There is still a little con- 
straint betioeen the two women.') 

Sarah. Use them for yeself. 

Nora (moved). For meself ? No one shall get a sight at 
them, since ye say so. Ye're more than kind 

Sarah. I always liked ye, Nora. Ye know that very well. 

Nora, An' may I never forget the day yer present come, 
an' it wasn't the dress nor the worth of it I cared so much for 
as thinkin' ye'd be comin' in an' out Sundays an' Thursdays 
like a sister from now on. 

Sarah. Sure the pleasantest times I remember was the 
years we worked out together. I'd never work with another 
girl since. Nora, there was somethin' I once said that I wish 
unsaid, — about makin' an' mendin', — got round to yer ears. 

Nora. One that's gone repeated it to me. 

Sarah. It was natural, she bein' a relation, — but 

Nora. But I know well it lost nothin' comin' through her. 

Sarah. Then we'll let it rest ? 

Nora. With all me heart, Sarah ! There'll always be a 
place here for ye. The children are wild to see ye. An' I'll 
keep yer trunk for ye anny time ye like. 

Sarah. I'll remember that, Nora. An' now, what can I 
do to help ye for to-morrer? Can I take a stitch to tighten 
things in the baby's dress ? 

Nora. The very idea ! (Calls.) Mother ! Who but ye- 
self would have thought of that, Sarah ? Mother ! Ye always 
sewed like a lady. Mother ! I never knew that mother was 
hard of hearin' before. 

Mrs. R. (from zvithin). What is it ye want? 

Nora. Just bring out the dress. 

(Mrs. R. appears in door.) 

Mrs. R. Why should ye want that clean dress knockin' 
around the kitchen ? 

Nora. Sarah's goin' to overlook it an' perhaps take a 
stitch or two. 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE I5 

Mrs. R. a stitch ! Before ye've so much as offered yer 
man's sister a cup of tea ? 

Nora. Will ye not have a cup, Sarah ? The water's boilin' 
an' it will be but the work of a moment. 

Sarah. Time enough for tea at supper. Let's have the 
dress, 

Mrs. R. I was faint for a cup of tea, but I'll go. 

Nora. Have the tea, mother. Ye know very well ye're 
more than welcome to it, an' a bit of bread an' butter too. 

Mus. R. I'll not take me tea in another's house alone, like 
they was givin' me cold victuals at the door. 

Nora. Whatever's got into ye, mother? 

Sauah {good-naturedly^. Ah, well, Nora, let's the three 
of us have a cup together first. 

Mrs. R. Thank ye, Sarah. Ye're a good woman. Thank 
God ye've prospered. Thank God ye ain't tied down to a bad 
man. 

Sarah {with a transitory cloud'). Ah — no 

(She sits at left of table, facing audience, leaning her head 
on her hand, while Mrs. R. and ^ora put tea things on.) 

Nora (at stove). I had a queer dream last night, that I 
was in a cimit'ry an' couldn't find the way out. 

Sarah {her melancholy wholly vanishing). I dreamed last 
night, too. (Mrs. R. and Nora come to table with milk, 
suqar and tea. They sit, Nora in middle, Mrs. R. at r. 
Nora pours tea.) I dreamed that I was home, the week be- 
fore I sailed to America. 

Nora. Here's yer tea, Sarah, (Sarah pours a little into 
saucer.) Here, mother. 

(Mrs. R. leaves hers before her, utitouched.) 

Sarah. I mind that week well. {Drinks from saucer, more^ 
daintily than Nora.) They took me to see the soldiers drilhn' 
at a fort. 

Nora. Ye always loved brass buttons. 

Sarah {lightly). It begun then. There was a young officer 
with his men. Very tall an' straight. A fine way with him. 
I seen him once or twice, or upwards of a dozen times. Black- 
haired an' black-eyed. A great bow an' smile when he met 
his friends. No two ways about it, he was a great gentleman. 
I dream of that fort often an' often still. 



l6 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Nora. That's comical. Wliy ain't ye drinkin' yer tea, 
mother, now ye've got it? 

Mrs. R. {almost grhnly). I'm lettin' it cool. 

NoKA, Then pour it into yer saucer. {Starts to do so.) 

Mrs. R. (^protecting tea). Leave me tea be ! 

Nora. It ain't like ye to be so quiet. 

Mrs. R. Don't fret. 

Nora. Ye ain't got no milk in yer tea, Sarah. 

Sarah. I learned to like it without long since. 

Nora {jvithout thinking). 'Twas Barty Leahy taught ye 
that, {^Embarrassed.) Whatever made him come into me 
mind? 

Sarah. I've heard he's a neighbor of yours. Ye may re- 
member, Patrick an' Michael went round with him for a while. 
I never thought highly of him meself. 

Nora (^pleased and vastly relieved). Is that so, Sarah? 
Well, Patrick has no use for him at all. {Vivaciously.) An' 
ye'U be interested to know that he's gone in an ambulance to 
the hospital not an hour since with 

Sarah {joith a gasp). Hospital ! 

Nora {with nnctioti). Gone to the hospital, with a broken 
leg. 

Mrs. R. (^hastily). A very small break, I've heard the 
neighbors sayin'. 

Nora {zvaking up to Sarah's agitation). Not the whole 
leg at all ! 

Mrs. R. [pretending to address remarks to Nora). Not 
more than one place in the leg. 

Nora {^pretending to address her mother). Certainly ! 
Not more than one place. 

Mrs. R. {still addressing Nora). I've known manny has 
broken their legs an' not thought of it a month after. 

Nora {to her mother). There's men has gone around with 
their spines an' necks broken, an' lived to a green old age. 
Have a drop more tea, Sarah. Indeed, a leg is nothin' at all. 

Sarah {recovered). Who said it was? I'll take a sip of 
milk. 

Nora {laughing). Indeed those evenin's when Barty Leahy 
dropped into the kitchen to supper, I think he persuaded us to 
take tea clear, so that he could have the milk for himself. 

Sarah {zvith a flash). Ye were always very hard on him, 
Nora ! I do not agree with ye at all. He took his own tea 
clear. 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 



'7 



Nora {with a laugh of reminiscence). More than once I've 
seen him empty the cream jug in his cup. 

Sarah. 1 was not watchin' to see what me comp'ny done. 
There's jugs a man can empty worse than cream. 

NouA. Sure Barty's emptied plenty such. 

Sarah {jvith an effort at control). Let's leave him rest in 
peace. 

Mrs. R. That's a good word. 

NoKA. Have another cup of tea, mother. Why, ye've not 
touched it ! An' Sarah wanlin' to overlook the dress, an' you 
sayin' how bad ye wanted yer tea first ! 

Mrs. R. I wanted me tea, an' 1 likes me tea, but I wants 
to drink it slow. 

Sarah {jaholly mistress of herself). Why not, ma'am? 
Drink it as slow as ye like, an' I'll go get the dress. 

Mrs. R. (^putting out a detaining hand). Wait! Did ye 
ever hear [Clutches Sarah's dress.) 

Nora (^not knoiving what to make of it). Let Sarah get the 
dress an' then ye can go on with yer story. [To Sarah.) 
She's full of old stories of the old country, as ye remember. 
There was that comical one [laughing) about the man had the 
little black dog 

Mrs. R. Ah, that was comical. Stop till I think of it. 

Sarah, A second to get the dress ! I listen better with 
somethin' in me hands. 

Mrs. R. Sarah ! Can ye help m j to remember ? There's 
an old song in me head. Did it go so ? 

(JBegins to sing in a cracked old voice.) 

Sarah. I've danced to it on a fiddle ! [She begins to 
dance. Nora joins in singing. Mrs. R., delighted with 
her success, beats time. Suddenly Sarah remembers what 
she^s after.) Me dancin' days are over ! 

[Exit gaily, l.) 

Nora [looking after her, radiant). Ah, Sarah, Sarah, ain't 
ye the great girl yet ! 

Mrs. R, Nora ! Where did ye get the dress? 

Nora [in a whisper). At Brady's round the corner I see 
them in the winder, — as like the one that's gone as me one 
hand is to the other. Oh, ain't she the same girl I met in the 
ship comin' over ? Thank God there's no hard feelin's between 
us anny more ! 



l8 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Mrs. R. What pattern had the lace, Nora? 

NouA. Didn't 1 say it's as like the one that's gone as me 
one hand to the other? Didn't ye see how bould 1 sliowed it 
to Sarah ? A pattern of leaves. 

Mrs. R. So it's for that ye've thrown away yer money ! 

Nora. Mother! What's wrong? Whatever do ye mean ? 

Mrs. R. Sarah's dress had a pattern of roses, — small roses 
in the leaves. 

Nora (Jiorrified). Roses ! 

Enter Sarah, tvilh dress. 

Sarah [laugJung). Manny's the good dance I've had in me 
kitchen when I first come over. I took a look at the baby. 
Ain't she the prettiest thing ? (Siis by windoiv.^ 

Nora (^goiiig to her, very gently^. Sarah, ye'd better give 
me the dress. 

Sarah. Go along with ye ! 

Nora. Ah yes, give it to me. 

Sarah. Let's hear Mrs. Ryan's comical story. 

Nora {taking hold of dress). Come now, darlin', ye 
see 

Sarah {with pretense of exasperation). Such a lot of talk 
about a bit of sewin' ! This dress feels stiff. I thought I sent 
ye a finer one. 

Nora {slowly atid gravely, hiding her apprehension). 
Shouldn't the mother do a hand's turn on the christenin' 
dress ? 

Sarah (slowly). So that's how ye feel? 

Nora {slowly, and zvith weight, then more rapidly in her 
fear). Ye can see for yeself. Sure the godmother's money 
bought it. But ain't it me first little girl an' is it odd I'd wish 
to sit down here alone the evenin' before the christenin', to 
take a stitch or two ? 

Sarah {unth a faint bitterness, relieved by a sense of hu- 
mor). I see. Me money can buy it, but that's all. Ye're 
like all mothers. Ye put the rest of us where we belong. Here, 
take the dress. {Suddenly, before surrendering it, she draws 
it back and looks at it closely.) This is not the dress I sent ! 

Nora {faltering and draiving back). Why not the dress ye 
sent ? 

Sarah, This dress has a pattern of leaves ! {A niomenf s 
silence. Mrs. R., now that the blow has fallen, begins to 
drink her tea. Nora twists her aprofi in her fingers. Sarah 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE I9 

^oes on in a low, sconifulvoice.') So this is why ye were out when 
1 coaie here. This is why Mrs. Ryan hadn't heard ye give yer 
reason for bein' away. This is why she didn't know where ye'd 
put the dress for safe keepin'. Tliis is why she was so anxious 
to save me the trouble of tightenin' a button or takin' a tuck. 
This is why bein' a mother ye couUl let no one but yerself take 
the last stitch in yer only little girl's christenin' dress ! Lies, 
every one of them all ! 

Nora (/// a last effort to deny). What do you mean? 

Sauah. Ye know very well what I mean ! This is the dress 
I threw aside ! It was not good enough for me godchild's 
christenin* ! It was not good enough for the day that saw me 
come to me brother's wife, me old friend, the girl I worked out 
three years with, as if she was me own sister 

Nora. For the love of God, Sarah, darlin', listen to me ! 

Sarah. It was not good enough for the sign that I'd put 
the past behind me, an' forgot how him an' you married an' 
left the whole care of the old folks on me, an' 

Nora. Who could have told 

(Mrs. R. stops drinking her tea.) 

Sarah. So I trimmed me old hat with some of me mistress' 
cast-off flowers for Easter, an' I bought cotton gloves instead of 
kid, an' I paid eight dollars for a dress with a pattern of roses, 
— roses, — for to go with the baby's name. 

Mrs. R. (^softly and in aive and horror). Ah, God ! Eight 
dollars ! 

Sarah. But I might have spared meself the trouble. I 
might have saved meself the pains. I might have got the cheap 
dress with the pattern of leaves for six dollars, an' given ye the 
other two outright, so ye'd have been saved the work of goin' 
to the store an' changin' the dress I give yer child for the cheap 
thing I'd have nothin' to do wiih, an' two dollars in cash ! 

( Contemptuously flings down dress. ) 

Nora. So that's what ye think I done ! 

Mrs. R. Keep quiet, Nora ! Let her say her say ! 

Sarah. That anny one on earth could be so low as to turn 
a child's christenin' dress into money ! Not even a present I 
give yeself, but a lace dress for the child, — a thing ye didn't 
own, — not yours at all ! An' changed into money, — why ? 
Was it to put out the washin' ? 

Mrs. R. Put out the washin' I 



20 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Sakah. Or is it loo much to make the bread yeself ? 

Nora (^furiously'). Too much to make the bread meself ? 
{Flings open cupboard door and exhibiis bread.) Look at 
that, Sarah Mulvey ! Look at that ! An' that ! An' that ! 

[She flings it do7vn by dress.') 

Sarah. Or was it tickets to the movin' picters ! 

Mrs. R. {furiously). Ah-h-h ! Movin' picters ! It's little 
enough she goes to the movin' picters, Sarah Mulvey ! 

Nora. I'hat's a hard word to come from a single woman to 
the mother of the childern of a workin' man ! 

Sarah. A single woman ! That comes well from you to 
me. An' why am La single woman? If the woman Patrick 
married had made him wait a year, — if the woman Patrick 
married had known how to save an' spare an' send a bit home 
to the old people, so it hadn't all come on me, — it may be that 
I'd be a woman in me own house instead of a gen'ral girl to- 
day. For there was a lad I'd have made into a gentleman was 
wild then to have me 

Nora (with a scornful laugli). A great gentleman ! 

Sarah. an' me not takin' the first offered, as some 

that's now married was quick to do ! 

Nora [holly). Do ye mean me ? 

Sarah [hotly). Put on the shoe if it fits ! 

Nora. Now I'll give ye the truth ! 

Sarah. Ye don't need to for I know it, that found Pat- 
rick's empty pay envelope on the floor. The dress I sent was 
sold, — the money spent before I got here, — an' me brother's 
envelope robbed, — robbed by his wife. 

Mrs. R. That's a lie ! 

Sarah. Then show me the dress ! 

Mrs. R. I'll show ye ! 

Nora. No, mother, leave me speak. The dress ye sent so 
kindly for my child's cbristenin' is gone where none of us can 
find it, through no fault of mine. 

Sarah. An' if it was torn by the childern or if it was 
scortched in the ironin' where's what's left of it? Is it likely 
there'd be no small shred left to show me ? Is it likely 

Nora. Likely i Likely ! An' is it likely that when three 
weeks is scarce past since I near gave me life for me baby, that 
I'd be ready so soon to rob the father an' the child ? 

Mrs. R. [scornfully). Hush, Nora ! What use sayin' that 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 21 

to a single woman ? Tell her how ye lent the dress an' lost it, 
an' let her take it as she will. 

Sarah {quieting for a moment^. Lent the dress an' lost it? 

Nora. So ye won't believe me? 

Sarah {with biting sarcasm in her voice'). Why shouldn't 
I believe ye? 1 wonder I'd not thought of it before. For lo 
get a great name among the neighbors, it was easy to throw the 
dress I sent away. Like ye threw money right an' left the first 
year ye were married, knowin' I'd send home Patrick's share 
as well as mine. Yer fine friends borrowed the dress, the way 
ye "lost" it — "lost" it, an'opened me brother's pay envelope 
to replace it, that they might think ye were too grand to ask it 
back. 

Nora. An' how could I ask back a dress was sold, will ye 
tell me, sold by them that borrowed it? Sold by the child's 
father, over the fence to a Jew peddler ? 

Sarah {in a white heat of anger). An' that's the like of 
yer friends ! Ye lent the dress 1 sent to some miserable for- 
eigner, — some thievin' Eyetalian, — to the sort that no one in 
yer husband's family would look twice at ! This settles our 
dealin's together. I'll go now. 

Nora. I lent it to Barty Leahy ! 

{An instant's silence.') 

Sarah {staring at her as if she had been struck). Barty 
Leahy ? 

Nora {ironically). One that none of me husband's family 
would look twice at. 

Sarah. Barty Leahy, — the tall, straight, black-haired fel- 
ler, — looked like an officer in his uniform, — he sold a borrered 
christenin' robe? 

Nora. Across the fence to a Jew. 

Sarah {with a helpless protest). Not him ! 

Nora. An' turned it into gin. 

Sarah {pleadingly). Ah, not Barty. 

Nora. Barty Leahy, the fine gentleman ! 

Sarah. Might have been the twin brother of that young 
Irish officer ! Nora, is this the truth ? {She seizes her by the 
wrist and for a viovient they look full into each other's eyes. 
Then Sarah flings Nora's hands aside.) No, ye'd not tell 
that lie of a neighbor ! Barty Leahy, that used to drink the 
cream ! 



11 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

[She drops into a diair by tJie table and hiries her face in 
her /lands. ^ 

Mrs, R. There she sits that sent other men away for hiui,- 

Sauah {looking ?//). Oh, the prayers I've said an' the holy 
books I've read an' the penance I've done for to drive him from 
me mind ! 

Mrs. R. You a good religious woman workin' out in the 
best places 

Nora. An' wantin' another woman's husband ! 

Mrs. R. Be slill, Nora Mulvey ! Ye've yer own penance 
comin'. Don't talk like a fool. 

Sarah. Let her say what she will. Ten years to me shame 
I've remembered Barty Leahy. Ten years ! Ten years I've 
treasured up anger because Patrick's marryin' early stood in the 
way of me marryin', who? Some one 1 thought next door to 
a gentleman — this thievin' man ! 

Mrs, R. Listen, woman ! Now ye can mend. Here's yer 
brother's wife saved ye marryin' him. 

Sarah. Ten years, — Vv'ith its troubles an' sorrers, — a long 
time to look back upon, with its ups an' its downs. Ten 
years ! Thinkin' that not marryin' the man ye wanted was the 
sorrer of sorrers. An' look who it was I, who like the gentry, 
wanted — Barty Leahy, the meanest man I'd ever known ! 
{Scornfully.') Looked like an officer in his uniform ! 

Mrs. R. Then why remember him from now on ? (Sarah 
starts to speak.) Daughther ! Listen to me. Out of kind- 
ness ye sent the dress to Nora 

Nora. Kindness ! Out of kindness she sent it. Out of 
kindness I lent it. That same kindness has been a cause of sin 
to Barty Leahy an' a cause of sin to me. All in a minute I'd 
taken the money himself give me. All in a minute I'd spent 
it. 'Twill be more than a minute before I get it back again. 

Mrs. R. Ye didn't take it from the pay-envelope ! 

NouA. I did ! 

Mrs. R. Six dollars from yer man's pay-envelope that he 
gives ye reg'lar an' it unopened ! An' what will ye do with 
yer neighbors goin' in an ambulance to the hospital, an' hot 
weather comin' on? An' himself goin' without his pipe an' 
crushed with debt the way he'll soon be drinkin', him the good 
man he is an' all. An' for no reason but ye were afraid to say 
ye were Christian enough to lend a dress to a neighbor's young 
one, for no reason but iliat ye've taken the money hiuiself give 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 



23 



je for the house, an' spent it on laces an' such like that ye 
can't afford. Shame on ye, shame on ye, Nora ! Himself has 
the good right to desert ye, — an' you without so much as a pot 
of boilin' water, — if I am yer own mother says it to ye to-day ! 

Sarah {opening her purse and flinging it down zoith a ges- 
ture of one to whom it is nothing). No, no, Mrs. Ryan ! 
Take me purse, Nora ! Put back the six dollars in yer own 
decent man's pay-envelope again ! 

Nora {clutching it). Sarah! May the Lord bless an' re- 
ward ye 1 ( Opens purse. ) May ye be prospered ! ( Takes 
out money.) May ye have all the happiness on earth an' a long 
rest in God an' a good bed in Heaven ! 

Sarah. What's six dollars to the woman might have been 
supportin' Barty Leahy at the wash-tub if things had gone her 
way. 

Mrs. R. True for ye, Sarah Mulvey ! Ye're a good 
woman. An' ye're free from all thought of him forevermore. 

Sarah {with a long breath). Yes, I'm free from him. 
{With grotving feeling.) Who'd a wish now to see him 
sleepin' or wakin', on earth or in heaven? 

Mrs. R. Not you, not you, Sarah Mulvey, a good religious 
girl, workin' out for none but the gentry 

Nora. Reg'lar in all yer church duties, year's end to year's 
end ! 

Sarah. Not me, that thought this lazy, lyin', drinkin' feller 
was the nearest a girl could come to a real young gentleman ! 
Not me, that knows now no woman livin' would even make a 
man out of a feller would steal a baby's christenin' dress 

Nora ' [ "^ borrered christenin' dress ! 

Mrs. R. An' sell it to a Jew. 

Nora. Across the fence to a Jew. 

Sarah. Barty Leahy was no more like that young Irish 
officer than night is like the day ! {In a burst of joy.) What's 
Barty Leahy to me? What's Barty Leahy beside the little 
shop I've saved up for ? 

Nora ' [ ^'^^^^^ ^'^^^^ breath). Shop ! 

Sarah. What's Barty Leahy beside the fine caterin' trade 
I'm plannin' in me mind? 

Nora I (^^^'^'^ bated breath). Listen to that ! 

Sarah, What's Barty Leahy to me? I never wanted 



24 THE CHRISTENING ROBE 

Baity nor anny other man ! {Goes on almost solemnly ; dream- 
ily and gently). It's a strange world, an' strange things hap- 
pens. . . . There was a saint, Mrs. Ryan — tliere was a 
saint once, Nora, darlin' — a good man, could see the whole 
world at one time. . . . Now, in a small way, I'm like 
him. I'm seein' meself in that same wideness. . . . That's 
a queer thing, comes to a body seldom in his life. 
There was a week at home, before sailin', an' I mind that week 
well. There was Barty in his uniform, when I come here, a 
friend of me two brothers, looked to me like a gentleman. An* 
there was yeself, marryin' Patrick before either of ye could 
afford to. . . . An' so I'm free of Leahy, but at the end 
it's not me prayers an' holy books an' penance, but this black 
sin of his has driven him from me mind. 

Mrs. R. But ye'd said them an' ye'd read them an' ye'd 
done them, all the same. 

Sarah (/// a low voice). An' that's right, too. 

(^A little silence. Mrs. R. draws a deep sigh, then, after 
the fashion of certain very old people, she retur?is to the 
present, much aggrieved.) 

Mrs. R. Me tea's cold ! 

Sarah. So it is ! What's the matter with us havin' a fresh 
cup? 

Nora {hurrying to stove). What matter indeed? Ah, 
Sarah, ye've done well. Ye'll be goin' out givin' lunches an' 
dinners. Ye'll be called Miss Mulvey. There'll be grand 

entertainin', — fine people (All are seated at the table.) 

There was manny of them young officers went down to Africa 
an' never come back, they say. An' Barty looked like the 
young Irish gentleman ! It was comical. 

Sarah. It was odd. {Condescendingly .) Nora, I'm very 
sorry for Mrs. Leahy. I'll give ye a couple of dollars, next 
week, to lay out for her as ye think best, without sayin' it. 
come from me. 

Nora. Ain't that kind of ye ! 

Mrs. R. {warmed by tea). Ye'll be prospered. 

Sarah. Ain't I better off, born to be a maiden, than she? 

Mrs. R. Indeed, the likes of you is happier when they 
don't marry. 

Nora. Manny the care a mother has. Didn't I catch 
Johnny in a lie only to-day ? 

Mrs. R. Patrick need not know about the stealin' of the dress. 



THE CHRISTENING ROBE 25 

Nora. He need not. An' there'll be nolhin' hard at all 
in me tellin' him that Mrs. Leahy sent the dress to be ironed, 
an' that a small boy brought it back, a moment since, as fresh 
as the day it come. 

Mrs. R. Say nolhin' about the small boy, Nora. 'Twould 
be a lie. That ain't ne's'ry. 

Enter Pat. 

Pat. Was it cream'ry butter ye wanted, Nora? 
Nora. Ah, Patrick, here's Sarah herself. 
Pat. Well, Sarah 1 t - 

Sarah. Well, Patrick ! 

{They shake hands.') 

Pat. Ye're lookin' tine. 

Sarah. So's yeself. 

Pat. I'm glad to see ye liere, Sarah. 

Sarah. I'm very glad to be here, Pat. 

Pat. {jovially'). An* all of ye driukin' yer tea before I get 
here, an' me out doin' the woman's errands, to fill ye up with 
butter at forty cents a pound ! 

Nora {jovially). Sit down, sit down, take yer tt.i an' keep 
yer temper. 

Pat. Where's the childern ? 

Mrs. R. Don't fret. They'll soon get here. 

Pat. There's the dress. 

Mrs. R. That elegant dress ! 

Pat. {to Sarah). It cost ye too much. 

Sarah. It was cheap at the price. 

Nora. An' it come home in such elegant shape. 

Pat. Didn't I tell ye Sarah'd not care? 

Nora. Suppose it hadn't come? Suppose annything had 
happened to it? Suppose I'd lost the one dress in all the city 
for me own taste? {All seated at table but herself.) The 
dress Sarah picked out with her own hands? 

Mr.s. R. There was an awful comical story, about a man 
had a little black dog 

{As the curtain bes^ins to fall, a hand-or^an is heard outside. 
Curtain falls quickly, and frotn behind it comes a burst 
of laughter.) 

CURTAIN 



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excitement, brings it about that the most insigniticant " grind " in college 
is about the best man there. Sympathetic and interesting. A good 
high school play. Price, ij cents 



A FOUL TIP 

A Comedy Drama in Three Ac*;s 

By Charles S. Allen 
Seven males, three females. Costumes, modern ; scenery, one exterioi 
scene, not changed. Plays two hours. The safe at Irving's factory is 
robbed and three persons are under suspicion, which finally settles most 
strongly on Verne Gale, the hero, who, to protect Hal Irving, old Irving's 
son, wliom his sister Nellie loves and whom he believes to be the real cul- 
prit, keeps his mouth shut save for protesting his own innocence. 
" Uncle " Tim Purdy is loyal to him and, with the aid of Pete Adams, the 
colored pitcher of the Westvale nine, finally discovers the real culprit. A 
strong play with unusual strength and variety of character and abundance 
of humorous lines and incidents. Very highly recommended. 
Price, 25 cents 

CHARACTERS 

Tim VvYiVi^, postmaster, chief of police and storekeeper at Westvale, 

Hiram Rovvell, the village expressman. 

Oliver Irving, manufacturer. 

Harold Irving, his son. 

Verne Gale, manager of the IVestvale nine. 

Pollard, Irving' s bookkeeper. 

Pete Adams, colored pitcher on the Westvale nine. 

Almira Purdy, Tim's wife. 

Mabel Remington, Irving's stenographer. 

Nellie Gale, Verne' s sister. 

Members of the ball team, villagers, etc. 

DADDY 

A Comedy in Three Acts 
By Lilli Huger Sjnith 
Four males, four females. Costumes, modern ; two easy interiors. 
Plays an hour and a half. Mr. Brown exhausts all the resources oi 
science, including smallpox and diphtheria signs, in an endeavor to keep 
away the admirers of his daughter whom he wishes to keep at home. He 
finally asks Dr. Chester, who is privately in love with her, to help him to 
dissuade hep from becoming a trained nurse. The doctor does so by 
marrying her himself. Very clever and amusing; full of wit and of high 
tone. Strongly recommended. 

Price, 25 cents 

CHARACTERS 
Mr. Wrexson 'QvLOWi^, just like his fellow men. 
Teddy Brown, his son, pursuijtg football at college. 
Paul Chester, a young doctor. 
Thompson, the Browns' butler. 
Mrs. Wrexson l^Kow^ii, Just like her fellow women. 
Nellie Brown, her daughter, a debutante. 
Mrs. Chester, Mr. Brown's sister, pursuing ill-health at home, 
Jane, the Browns cook. 



ALIAS BROWN 

A Satirical Farce in Three Acts 

By E. J. Whisler 

Eleven males, five females. Costumes, modern ; scenery, two interiors. 

Plays two hours. Keeler, fearing arrest for participation in a glove con 

iest in Sacramento, adopts the name of a cigar salesman, Brown, whose 

card he finds in tlie train, and flees to Reno. Too late he finds Brown to 

be named as the corespondent in a divorce suit brought by Mr. Logan 

against his wife, and that Mr. and Mrs. Logan and Mary Gilbert, the girl 

of his heart, are all on the ground. His troubles are many, but he finds 

a way out of tliem. Good rapid farce and very funny. 

Frice, 2j cents 

CHARACTERS 

Mr. James Log.^n, a young married man. Age about twenty-five. 

Quick tempered. 
Mr. Mortimer, "Mrs. Mortimers husband" not subdued, but 

submerged. Age about forty. 
John Brown, a cigar salesman. Age about forty. A practical 

business man with no frills. Somewhat bald and a little gray. 
Vincent Allgood, the hotel clerk ( Nuf ced). 
Montmorency, a bell hop. 
Henry Keeler, a young man of about thirty. A gentleman of 

leisure, and a good fellow. 
Billy Newcomu, a newspaper reporter. Alert and on the job. 
La Rue, the chief of police. A little hearty mentally, but persistent 

a7id faithful. 
Mr. Thomas Richie, a good-hearted, but weak young fellow, of 

about twentyfour. 
Lee Watei^s, a theatrical matiager. Pompous and tnuch inclined 

to run things. 
Rastus, a porter. 
Mary Gilbert, a public stenographer. Age abotit tiventy-five. A 

practical, sensible girl. 
Mrs. 1\Iarie Logan, a young married woman. Age about twenty- 
two. 
Mrs. Beatrice Mortimer, an actress. Age about forty-five. 
Mrs. John Brown, about forty years old. Very mild mannered, a 

little old-fashioned. 
Mrs. Thomas Richie, age about twenty. A flighty little thing, 
frivolous, but affectionate. 

A FULL HOUSE 

A Farce in One Act 

By Dorothy Waldo 

Three males, three females. Costumes, modern ; scene, an interior. 

Plays tliirty minutes. Mrs. Jinks, who keeps a boarding house, gets two 

applicants for her second floor front mixed, and manages by accident to 

atraighten out a tangled love affair. Full of laughs. Recommended. 

Price, li cents 



RED ACRE FARM 

A Rural Coir»edy Drama in Three Acts by Gordan V. May. Seven 
males, five females. Costumes, modern ; scenery, one interior, one exte- 
rior. Plays two hours. An easy and entertaining play with a well-bal- 
anced cast of characters. The story is strong and sympathetic and the 
comedy element varied and amusing. Barnaby Strutt is a great part for 
a good comedian ; " Junior " a close second. Strongly recommended. 
Pricg, 2 J cents 

THE COUNTRY MINISTER 

A Comedy Drama in Five Acts by Arthur Lewis Tubbs. Eight males, 
five females. Costumes, modern ; scenery not difficult. Plays a full. even- 
ing. A very sympathetic piece, of powerful dramatic interest ; strong and 
varied comedy relieves the serious plot. Ralph Underwood, the minister, 
is a great part, and Roxy a strong soubrette ; all parts are good and full 
of opportunity. Clean, bright and str&ngly recommended. 
Price, 2$ cents 

THE COLONEL'S MAID 

A Comedy in Three Acts by C. Leona Dalrymple. Six males, three 
females. Costumes, modern ; scenery, twc interiors. Plays a full even- 
ing. An exceptionally bright and amusing comedy, full of action ; all the 
parts good. Capital Chinese low comedy part ; two first-class old men. 
This is a very exceptional piece and can be strongly recommended. 
P) ice, 2^ cento 

MOSE 

^ A Comedy in Three Acts by C. W. Miles, Eleven males, ten females. 
Scenery, two interiors; costumes, modern. Plays an hour and a half. A 
lively college farce, full of the true college spirit. Its cast is large, but 
many of the parts are small and incidental. Introduces a good deal of 
singing, which will serve to lengthen the performance. Recommended 
highly for co educational colleges. Price, /j cents 

OUR WIVES 

A Farce in Three Acts by Anthony E. Wills. Seven males, four fe- 
males. Costumes, modern ; scenery, two interiors. Plays two hours and 
a half. A bustling, up-to-date farce, full of movement and action ; all 
the parts good and effective ; easy to produce ; just the thing for an ex- 
perienced amateur club and hard to spoil, even in the hands of less 
practical players. Free for amateur performance. Price, 2j cents 

THE SISTERHOOD OF BRIDGET 

A Farce in Three Acts by Robert Elwin Ford. Seven males, six fe- 
males. Costumes, modern ; scenery, easy interiors. Plays two hours. 
An easy, effective and very humorous piece turning upon the always in- 
teresting servant girl question. A very unusual number of comedy parts ; 
all the parts gooJ, Easy to get up and well recommended. Price, 25 centi 



Popular Plays 



THE COUNTRY MINISTER 

A Comedy Drama in Five Acts 
By Arthur Lewis Tubbs 
Eight males, five females. Costumes, modern; scenery not difficult. 
Plays a full evening. A very sympathetic piece, of powerful dramatic in- 
terest; strong and varied comedy relieves the serious plot. Ralph Un- 
derwood, the minister, is a great part, and Roxy a strong soubrette ; all 
parts are good and full of opportunity. Clean, bright and strongly recom 
mended. Price, 2^ cents 

THE TEASER 

A Rural Comedy in Three Acts 
By Charles S. Allen 
Four male, three female characters. Scene, an easy interior, the sanie 
for all three acts; costumes, modern. Plays an hour and a half. An ad- 
mirable play for amateurs, very easy to get up, and very effective. Uraliah 
Higgins, a country postman, and Drusilla Todd are capital comedy parts, 
introducing songs or specialties, if desired. Plenty of incidental fun. 
Price, 25" cents 

THE HERO OF THE GRIDIRON 

A College Comedy in Five Acts 

By Estelle Cook 

Nine male, four^ female characters and supernumeraries. Costumes, 

modcn ; scenery, easy interiors and exteriors, not essential. Plays about 

*wo hours. A successful farce suited to co-educational and other colleges j 

very easy and remarkably effective in performance. Can be played only 

on payment of a royalty of ^5.00 for each performance to the author. 

Price, 2^ cents 

MOSE 

A Comedy in Three Acts 
By C. W. Miles 
■ Eleven males, ten females. Scenery, two interiors ; costumes, mo-Jern^ 
Plays an hour and a half. A lively college farce, full of the true college 
spirit. Its cast is large, but many of the parts are small and incidental. 
Introduces a good deal of singing, which will serve to lengthen the per- 
formance. The inevitable football is an element of its story, but its 
strongest dramatic interest does not depend upon this. Recommended 
highly for co-educational colleges. 

Price, /J cents 

Sent, post-paid, on receipt of price, by 

BAKER,, 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Mass 



THE SUFFRAGETTES' CONVENTION 

An Entertainment in One Scene 

By Jessie A. Kelley 

One male, twelve females. Costumes, modern and eccentric ; scenery, 

unimportant. Plays an hour and a quarter. Another of Mrs. Kelley's 

popular assemblages of the floating humor of the Suffragette question. 

Just a string of humorous lines and characters and local hits aimed to raise 

a hearty laugli witliout hurting anybody's feelings. Suited for women's 

clubs and for general use in private theatricals. 

Price, 2 J cents 

CHARACTERS 

Mrs. John Yates, presiding officer. 

Mks. Silas Curtis, SKjfragette speaker. 

Mrs. Eben Altaian, suj'mgetie speaker, 

Mrs. Eldon Keener, anti'^suffragette. 

Mrs. Oscar Dayton, a7iti-suffragette. 

Mrs. Jonas Harding, anti-sitffragette. 

Miss Rosabjille Hyacinth, engaged. 

Miss Priscilla Prudence, would like to be engaged. 

Miss Anna Helder, great on style. 

Mrs. Charles Bates, anti-suffragette. 

Mrs. Russell Sager, suffragette. 

Mrs. Francis Wood, suffragette. 

Silas Curtis, who becomes an ardent advocate of woman suffrage 

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS 

A High School Comedy in One Act 
By Gladys Ruth BridghaiJt 
Three males, three females. Costumes, modern ; scenery, a single in 
terior. Plays one hour. Three seminary girls go to the masquerade on 
the sly, get mixed up there with some students and have a narrow escape 
from detection. Their later anxieties are complicated by the fact that they 
discover that one of the younger members of their own faculty was also 
there ; but this later suggests a plan by which they escape. Very brigh! 
and breezy and full of fun and action. 

Price, 15 cents 

LOOK OUT FOR PAINT 

A Farce Comedy in Three Acts 

By Cornelius Shea 

Five males, four females. Costumes, modern ; scenery, one interior and 

one exterior. Plays an hour and a half. An elderly maiden, making a 

«* flash " at a summer boarding-house, runs into a young artist with whom 

she has corresponded tluough a matrimonial bu.-eau. He is anadmirerof 

the landlady's daughter and tells her the facts before the lady has seen 

him. Slie induces Roamer, a tramp house-painter, to exchange identities 

with his fellow artist with sidesplitting results. A capital piece, full oi 

humor and very easy. Recommended for schools. 

Price, 2§ cents 



B* 01* Pinery's Plays 

Price> SO 0cnt$ €acb 



MinLpIf AMMPI Play in Four Acts. Six males, five females. 
»»"*'"*'*"»*»*'"" Costumes, modem; scenery, three interiors. 
Plays two and a half hours. 

THE NOTORIOUS MRS. EBBSMITH &* '^^^^l 

males, five females. Costumes, modem; scenery, all Interiors. 
Plays a full evening. 

mPRnPlinATF Play in Pour Acta. Seven males, fire 
r IVVr LitUA 1 El females. Seenery, three interiors, rather 
elaborate ; costumes, modem. Plays a full evening. 

THE SCHOOLMISTRESS f^^^rfe^^tl^Tos^^LTS^: 

em; scenery, three Interiors. Plays a full evening. 

THE SECOND MRS. TANQUERAY II^^^X.^S^e 

females. Costumes, modem; scenery, three interiors. Plays a 
full evening. 

^WFFT I AVFNnFD Comedy in Three Acts. Seven males, 
OfTEiEil LiAVIJllUCIi four females. Scene, a tingle interior, 
eoitomes, modern. Plays a full evening. 

THE THUNDERBOLT ^ire^^Li^s^°¥cel"eVy,tS?effi: 

ora; oostomes, modern. Plays a full evening. 

THF TTMF^ comedy in Four Acts. Six males, seven female*. 
* **" * llilliu Scene, a single interior ; costumes, modern. Plays 
a full evening. 

THF WFAVFR QFY Comedy in Three Acts. Eight malea, 
inUi TT IVAIVEiIV OCA eight females. Costumes, modern; 
scenery, two interiors. Plays a full evening. 

A WIFE WITHOUT A SMILE I?-J!^*male8, four female'! 
Costumes, modern ; scene, a single interior. Plays a full evening. 

Sent prepaid on receipt of price by 

Walttv ^. Pafeer & Company 

No. 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Massachusetts 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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%l)t Willmxa Whxvm Ctiitton 
of ^lajs 



A^ Yflll I [KF IT Comedy In Fir© Acts. Thirteen males, fotir 
AJ lUl) L(illl^ li females. Costnmes, picturesque ; icenery, va- 
ried. PlayB a full evenlug. 

piUfT I p Drama In Five Acts. Nine male*, flre female*. Cos- 
vAJIUt(L(Lf tnmes, modern ; scenery, varied. Plays a full evening. 

INIinMAD ^^y ^ ^^^ Acts. Thirteen males, three females. 
mUUOlAA Scenery varied ; costumes, Oreek. Flays a full evening. 

MADV CTITAfiT Tragedy in rive Acts. Thirteen males, four fe- 
iIlAI\I OlUAHl males, and supernumeraries. Costumes, of the 
period ; scenery, varied and elaborate. Plays a full evening. 

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE ai^rh'?erf?ml^: cJ^^ 

picturesque ; scenery varied. Plays a full evening. 

DirHPI fFIT Playln Five Acts. Fifteen males, two females. Bcen- 
I\1wUIjUU<U ery elaborate ; costximes of the period. Plays a full 
evening. 

THP RIVAIC Comedy In Five Acts. Klne males, five females. 
1 ll£i Ul T AuO Scenery varied ; costumes of the period. Plays a 
full evening. 

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER ST^C ffm\^et''*lcen^.?r^ 

rled ; costumes of the period. Plays a full evening. 

TWEFTH NIGHT; OR, WHAT TOO WILL i^X'^/en'^mK 

three females. Costrunes, picturesque ; scenery, varied. Plays a 
(all evening. 



Sent prepaid on receipt of price by 

l^altcr ^, 'Bafeer & Company 

H"o. 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Massachusetts 

S. J. PARKHILL • CO., PIIINTIRa, ■OSTON, U.S.*. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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